ESD Okayama Award Presentation Ceremony

Starting with an opening remark by Mr. Kazuhiko Takemoto, Chairperson of the ESD Okayama Award Steering Board and a guest remark by Mr. Hiroshi Miyatake, Chairman of the Okayama City Council, the Awards Certificates were handed over to representatives of each winning organization from Mr. Masao Omori, Mayor of Okayama City.

Comments from the Jury

50 applicants applied for the 'Global Award' (29 applicants from 27 countries around the world and 21 from Japan) and 30 applicants applied for 'Okayama Regional Award' during application period from 16 July 2015 to 25 September. Through the preliminary screening, 9 finalists for the Global Award and 5 finalists for the Okayama Regional Award were selected. After the final selection 2 nominees won the Global Award and 2 nominees won the Okayama Regional Award.

In the selection of the Global Award, we did not assess the organizations but the substance of projects. We saw it as important, whether the projects contribute to visualizing and spreading ESD in local communities.

- 'Library-oriented Community Learning Centers in Rural Cambodia' by Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) tackles local urgent issues such as literacy and poverty through establishing and utilizing a community library. It raises motivation of the local residents for learning and joining activities through considering the local needs and promotes voluntary and self-motivating activities for developing a sustainable community. Capacity building is conducted for local residents, so that they will be able to run the CLC (Community Learning Centre) by themselves in the future. This project is recognized as a national model of CLC in Cambodia.

-'Sustainable Development through Protection and Conservation of Forests and Bio-diversity, Education, Society, Economy and Environment by Addressing the Negative Impacts of Climate Change' by Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) works comprehensively on transforming community including improving standard of life and natural environment in several areas such as Satkhira and Chittagong. The project was also valued with the point that it involves various people and groups in the communities.

In the selection of the Okayama Regional Award, we assessed the projects mainly from the following three criteria: 1) whether the project nurtures the people who are aware of the social and local issues, learn, practice and act for tackling those issues; 2) whether it involves various stakeholders; 3) whether it is run systematically, not being managed by specific individuals and has prospect of continuity.

- 'Okayama City Kyoyama District ESD Project' by Okayama City Kyoyama District ESD Promotion Commission based at Kyoyama Kominkan (Community Learning Centre) involves inter-generational people and various stakeholders and conducts community-wide ESD activities. The project has been continuing for more than ten years with clear ESD vision and it is improved continuously through every year's evaluation.

-Okayama Prefectural Wakeshizutani Senior High School which conduct 'Wakeshizutani Senior High School - Attractive School Project' (Cooperation with Community /' Shizutani-learning in the Period of Integrated Study /ESD Promotion by School Education) joined in the UNESCO ASPnet in 2011 and promotes learning and practices for building a sustainable community through volunteer work by all students and activities in and with the community by utilizing the period of integrated study. It is expected that the students working on ESD will be leaders of the society.

Furthermore, following comments were given by the jury. Besides the two winners of the Global Award, there were applications which have been promoting ESD for a longtime in the international field. We would like to introduce shortlisted projects on the website after we get agreements of the applicants. For Okayama Regional Award, there were applications about projects practicing ESD on the issue of living environment, disaster risk reduction and persons with disability and also those which are expected to contribute to promotion of ESD in the region.

Project Presentation by the award-winning organizations

'Sustainable Development through Protection and Conservation of Forests and Bio-diversity, Education, Society, Economy and Environment by Addressing the Negative Impacts of Climate Change'< Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM)> (Bangladesh)

'Wakeshizutani Senior High School - Attractive School Project' (Cooperation with Community /'Shizutani-learning in the Period of Integrated Study /ESD Promotion by School Education)< Okayama Prefectural Wakeshizutani Senior High School>

Shortlisted Projects of the ESD Okayama Award 2015

[Global Award]

9 projects were shortlisted including 2 award-winning projects and the following 7 projects.

-'Developing Community by Working on 'White Paper for the Future of Itabashi' on the Basis of Achievement of the Decade of ESD' by Specified Nonprofit Organization Itabashi Promotion Center of Volunteer, Civic Activity and Learning, Japan

- 'Collaboration Project for 'The Best Environmental Learning Town in the World Mizushima' by The Foundation for Environmental Rehabilitation and Redevelopment of Mizushima, Japan